Former Finnsih president Martti Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Nobel
10 Oct 2008
Mumbai: Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland, won the Nobel prize for peace for a long period of peace mediation work, including a 2005 accord between Indonesia and rebels in its Aceh province.
''The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to `fraternity between nations' in Alfred Nobel's spirit,'' the committee said in a release.
Ahtisaari was chosen to receive the $1.4 million prize from a field of 197 candidates "for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts," the release said.
The prize will be handed over in Oslo on 10 December, the death anniversary of Swedish inventor and philanthropist Alfred Nobel who created the awards.
Ahtisaari, who was Finland's president from 1994 to 2000, has had a diplomatic career stretching from Africa to the Balkans. He has been a favourite to win for years.
''Throughout his adult life, whether as a senior Finnish public servant and president or in an international capacity, often connected to the United Nations, Ahtisaari has worked for peace and reconciliation. For the past twenty years, he has figured prominently in endeavours to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts,'' the release pointed out.
In 1989-90 he played a significant part in the establishment of Namibia's independence; in 2005 he and his organization Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) were central to the solution of the complicated Aceh question in Indonesia. In 1999 and again in 2005-07, he sought under especially difficult circumstances to find a solution to the conflict in Kosovo. In 2008, through the CMI and in cooperation with other institutions, Ahtisaari tried to help find a peaceful conclusion to the problems in Iraq. He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa.
''Ahtisaari is an outstanding international mediator. Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to express the hope that others may be inspired by his efforts and his achievements,'' the release added.
